Trashy movies, trashy paperbacks, trashy old TV shows, trashy...well, you get the picture.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape

I just discovered this 1983 song by The Times on Rhino's CHILDREN OF NUGGETS box set. It's funny that the video plays almost exactly like any number of homemade tribute videos on YouTube, where a fan reenacts a scene or the opening credits from their favorite TV show.

Times lead singer and songwriter Ed Ball had been a member of three earlier British bands, including the Television Personalities and the Teenage Filmstars, before forming The Times in 1982. The Times' third single on the new ARTPOP! label was a tribute to the great 1960s television series THE PRISONER, which starred Patrick McGoohan as a British former spy who is kidnapped and held prisoner in a mysterious village by people who want to know why he retired.

"I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape" was not a hit single, but it is a catchy song, and its video is a fun tribute to McGoohan and THE PRISONER.